Guinness World Records thinks George Stobbart is older than Tex Murphy

The first Broken Sword game was released in 1996. It was a great game — at least, I think so. I really enjoyed it a lot. It was dry, humorous, exciting, gorgeous, and well-written, even if it moved a tad slowly at times.

So I’m not going into this because I hate Broken Sword. I really don’t. I may have said in the past that I think Broken Sword is a dead horse that needs to stop being beaten, I have very little but contempt for Broken Sword 3 to the point where I outright refuse to play Broken Sword 4, and, while I’m open to playing the latest crowdfunded instalment, Broken Sword 5, I haven’t yet and I’m not in any hurry to. I stand by those utterances, but it doesn’t change the fact that I like Broken Sword.

He is not. Not by a long shot. Look at the dates. Tex Murphy’s first adventure, Mean Streets, was released in 1989, and the latest, Tesla Effect, in 2014. That’s 25 years.

Contrast this to Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars released in 1996 and the latest, Broken Sword: The Serpent’s Curse released in 2013. Let’s be nice to it and say it wasn’t finally released until episode 2 came out the year after, in 2014. That’s still only 18 years.

Look at the numbers.

And don’t give me this shit, either, Guinness:

@dosnostalgic Though Tex was considered, due to the 16-year gap between the 5th & 6th games it was deemed a revival, not a continual series

It’s simply not true. Tesla Effect was released the same year as Broken Sword 5 thanks to a successful crowdfunding effort, and is a direct continuation of the series — not a remake, not a reimagination. And, might I add, a crowdfunding campaign is also what brought Broken Sword 5 back.

And don’t tell me Overseer was just a remake, because it clearly wasn’t. You’d know that if you’d played the game.

So if we’re talking what constitutes a “revival,” then Broken Sword 5 is every bit as much a revival as Tesla Effect.

Maybe Stephen Daultrey, editor of the Games Edition of Guinness, just has a bias?

“Broken Sword is a series that I first played and loved as a kid so the fact that it’s still going strong today is testament to the brilliant storytelling and characters that it’s revered for,” added Stephen Daultrey, editor of the Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition. “It’s a real honour to recognise the games’ iconic leading protagonists with a Guinness World Records title for their enduring popularity and ability to stand the test of time.”